Prince Harry's shift from 'media darling' to unpopular royal explained by late Queen aide

used to be the " and was "absolutely loved" during his time as a working royal, Queen Elizabeth's former press secretary has claimed.

The Duke of Sussex may now be among the but that wasn't always the case.

Ailsa Anderson, who worked for the late Queen as her press secretary from 2001 to 2013, spoke about her own experience with "cheeky chappie" Prince Harry during her tenure.

She told the : "Harry . He was the war hero, he'd served in Afghanistan, he was a cheeky chappie.

"If you speak to royal correspondents who have been in the job a long time, they all absolutely loved Harry."

She added that, while future king, Prince William, was more "serious and shy", it was his younger brother Prince Harry - "funny and intelligent" - who was the life and soul of the party. In fact, he "couldn't do a thing wrong", she claimed.

She added: "I've got a photograph in my hall of Harry and I with our arms around each other outside a ladies' loo - don't read anything into this. It was hilarious. He was very happy to pose with a member of staff for a photograph.

"I can only speak from experience, but that was what he was like - the media's darling."

But the former royal staffer, who managed two Jubiless, the Prince and Princess of Wales's marriage and birth of their first child, Prince George, as well as the Queen Mother's death, said that the recent royal crises make her "thank God" she's not working for the Firm anymore.

She explained: "Thank God I'm not there. I do think they're doing a brilliant job. I know quite a lot of the press officers there.

"It's a tough job, it's relentless, it's 24/7. Even when you're on holiday, you're still getting media calls.

"I think they're doing a terrific job, I really do - so hats off to the Royal Household."

According to the latest ranking by YouGov, the Sussexes still remain among the least popular royals in the third quarter of 2024.

Prince Harry's popularity is at 27 percent, while Meghan Markle's popularity plunged to 23 percent.

Prince Andrew remains the least popular royal with a popularity score of 14 percent.